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AR - Darla Harper, 25, Little Rock, 4 March 1986

Vital Statistics
Date Of Birth: July 2, 1960
Age at Time of Disappearance: 25 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3", 110 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown eyes; light brown hair.
Marks, Scars: She has a 1-1/2 inch burn scar on the left elbow and a small scar on the right cheek.
Clothing: She was last seen wearing a pull-over shirt and jeans.
Jewelry: Diamond "horseshoe" shaped ring, diamond cluster ring, Necklace with a "teardrop" shaped diamond pendant.
Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Harper's neighbor heard noises at 11:00 pm, March 3, 1986 but did not investigate. The following day Harper failed to report to her job at IRS and a co-worker checked but found that she was missing from her Gravel Ridge apartment. She has not been heard from again. Her two-year-old daughter was left behind. There was blood on the front door of Darla's apartment.

One of the only clues was a set of finger prints found in her abandoned car, which was located in a commuter parking lot near Crystal Hill nine miles away from her apartment, shortly after Harper's disappearance.

According to Darla's mom, she had just gone through a divorce four months earlier. Darla's daughter was 2 and-a-half- years-old when her mom disappeared in 1986. Authorities have followed hundreds of leads over the years. In 1990, investigators searched the back yard of Harper's ex-husband (the house Darla lived in prior to her divorce) and found a bone fragment, but couldn't match it to Harper.
The Pulaski County Sheriff's Department is still investigating this case.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Pulaski County Sheriff's Office 501-340-6601

Agency Case Number: 86-03487
NCIC Number: M-187616677
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Darla Harper - 21 Years Later

25 year old Darla Harper disappeared in March of 1986. Her 2 and a half year old daughter was found in their apartment alone in Gravel Ridge. Harper’s case is one of several cold cases being revisited by KARK. Leslie, Harper’s daughter, made statements at the time that she “saw mommy in a bag” and that “three men came in funny hats.” Leslie Bourne, now 23, told KARK she still remembers some things, but is not certain if they are her own memories or versions of what she’s been told through the years. “Growing up I always wondered why they left me there,” says Bourne.

AR-Darla Harper (25). Little Rock. 03/04/86

Update KARK 4 News "Darla Harper -- 21 Years Later" 2007, Text and Video at linkhttp://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/?cid=62626There have been several persons of interest over the years. In 1990, investigators searched the property of Harper’s ex-husband after his current wife made a statement that Harper was buried there. Bone fragments were discovered, but medical examiners could not positively identify them as human. “The case was complicated,” says Mel Nixon, Darla’s mother. “A neighbor came forward 5 months after Darla disappeared and claimed to have actually been an eye witness to Darla being abducted. She involved some people working on the apartment, doing some painting.” Investigators worked on that lead and others through the years, but no one has ever been arrested.
. . . New DNA technology could provide more clues.

Darla Melissa Harper
The Charley Projecthttp://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/harper_darla.html
The Doe Networkhttp://www.doenetwork.org/cases/168dfar.html
Case File 168DFAR
Darla Melissa Harper
Missing since March 4, 1986 from Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Circumstances of Disappearance
Harper's neighbor heard noises at 11:00 pm, March 3, 1986 but did not investigate. The following day Harper failed to report to her job at IRS and a co-worker checked but found that she was missing from her Gravel Ridge apartment. She has not been heard from again. Her two-year-old daughter was left behind.
There was blood on the front door of Darla's apartment.
One of the only clues was a set of finger prints found in her abandoned car, which was located in a commuter parking lot near Crystal Hill nine miles away from her apartment, shortly after Harper's disappearance.
Darla had just gone through a divorce four months earlier. Darla's daughter was 2 and-a-half- years-old when her mom disappeared in 1986. Authorities have followed hundreds of leads over the years. In 1990, investigators searched the back yard of Harper's ex-husband (the house Darla lived in prior to her divorce) and found a bone fragment, but couldn't match it to Harper.

Investigators If you have any information concerning this case, please contact: Pulaski County Sheriff's Office 501-340-6601

SHERWOOD, Ark. (AP) - Police plan to dig in woods in Sherwood in hopes of finding clues in the disappearance of an Internal Revenue Service worker 23 years ago.
Police obtained a court order to dig up what they believe is a shallow grave, located about three miles from where 25-year-old Darla Harper lived before she went missing. Harper's co-workers at the IRS, where she was a personnel clerk, reported her missing March Fifth, 1986, after she failed to show up for work….”

A hot lead in a cold case turned cold again late Friday. Police spent the day digging up what appeared to be a shallow grave not far from where 25-year-old Darla Harper went missing from her apartment back in 1986.

A man walking his dog found what appears to be a grave in the woods near a Sherwood neighborhood. If they find human remains, the Harper case is the first they'll look at. Sherwood police and Pulaski County Sheriff's deputies and the county coroner spent the day digging and sifting through the suspicious mound.

Lt. Cheryl Williams with Sherwood Police says it was suspicious enough to treat it as a crime scene, “There's no way of knowing until we get down there and see what's in there.”

Pulaski County investigators were especially interested in this site because they thought it may hold clues to the disappearance of Hopper. But after 8 hours of digging and excavating 24 inches they discovered nothing.

Copyright 2009 Newport Television LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

A hot lead in a cold case turned cold again late Friday. Police spent the day digging up what appeared to be a shallow grave not far from where 25-year-old Darla Harper went missing from her apartment back in 1986.

A man walking his dog found what appears to be a grave in the woods near a Sherwood neighborhood. If they find human remains, the Harper case is the first they'll look at. Sherwood police and Pulaski County Sheriff's deputies and the county coroner spent the day digging and sifting through the suspicious mound.

Lt. Cheryl Williams with Sherwood Police says it was suspicious enough to treat it as a crime scene, “There's no way of knowing until we get down there and see what's in there.”

Pulaski County investigators were especially interested in this site because they thought it may hold clues to the disappearance of Hopper. But after 8 hours of digging and excavating 24 inches they discovered nothing.

Copyright 2009 Newport Television LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Dig Set In Old Case Of Missing Woman
Last updated Saturday, February 21, 2009 5:23 PM CST in News
By The Associated Press
Email this story Print this story Comment on this story SHERWOOD -- Police plan to dig at a wooded site in Sherwood in the hope of finding clues in the disappearance of an Internal Revenue Service worker 23 years ago.

Police obtained a court order to dig up what they believe is a shallow grave, located about three miles from where Darla Harper, 25, lived before she vanished. Harper’s co-workers at the IRS, where she was a personnel clerk, reported her missing March 5, 1986, after she failed to show for work.

Harper’s 2-year-old daughter was found alone in their Gravel Ridge apartment. She was not harmed.

A petition for the court order describes the site as an earthen mound located on a downhill slope. The petition, filed by a Pulaski County attorney on behalf of the coroner, said a person discovered the mound while walking along a trail and told police. A police report on Harper’s disappearance accompanied the petition.

Sherwood police spokeswoman Lt. Cheryl Williams would not comment on the case. County Coroner Garland Camper said equipment was being brought in from Texas to assist in the investigation.

Authorities expect to begin the excavation within days.

Harper was separated from her husband, Barry Harper, at the time of her disappearance. The day after she was reported missing, authorities found her mud-caked car abandoned at a commuter parking lot, nine miles from her home. Investigators said there was a small amount of blood found in her car and on the door of her apartment.

Four years after her disappearance, authorities searched Barry Harper’s house in Sherwood. The six-hour search was concentrated under the house. No remains were found.

25 years ago...

NamUs entry

Darla has been missing 28 years now.https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/1143/0/
tatus Missing
First name Darla
Middle name Melissa
Last name Harper
Nickname/Alias
Date last seen March 04, 1986 00:00
Date entered 12/12/2008
Age last seen 25 to years old
Age now 53 years old
Race White
Ethnicity
Sex Female
Height (inches) 63.0
Weight (pounds) 115.0